President Jonathan’s critics are morally bankrupt – Sarah Jibril

The Special Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Mrs. Sarah Jibril, has lashed out on the habitual critics of President Goodluck Jonathan, describing them as both 'morally bankrupt and lacking in home training'.

The serial presidential contestant had while fielding questions from newsmen at a roundtable on cultural diplomacy in Nigeria and Africa event put together by her office, said choosing to criticize the president and his administration at all times rather than make constructive contributions boils down to personal ego.

“Insulting the President is a bad definition of politics. It boils down to philosophical bankruptcy or ignorance. It is a matter of personal ego for people to criticise rather than make contributions. It is the responsibility of the government to re-educate them. And I appreciate that Mr. President is not responding to every insult that is coming up. Our business in government is to tolerantly, patiently and lovingly continue to educate people explaining what we are trying to do. There is a way you can raise observations.

“But I think they would have much more human civilisation input that you are talking to a person you voted for and you have avenue of advice but you take it personally to insult the President of the Federal Republic of your country, it means that person is showing the lack of home training, good manner and ethical maturity,' she said.

jubril further stated that Nigerians deserved commendations for living together for 100 years without breaking up, expressing the confidence that despite Nigeria’s diversity, the nation would not break up.

She said with the beginning of another centenary, the nation was on the threshold of a new beginning, adding that “Nigerians are teachable, changeable, developable and are transformable”.

Jibril commended members of the National Assembly for their stance against same marriage, saying no Nigerian growing up ever witnessed a male horse mating with another male horse nor an hen mating with another end, adding that no pressure from the West should make Nigeria change her mind.

Jibril said it was high time Nigerians redefine their civilisation, urging youths from the Niger Delta engaged in kidnapping and those in the north involve in terrorism to bear in mind they were creating a dysfunctional future for the next generation.

“Our children in the Niger Delta and Boko Haram areas, if they do not stop it, they are creating a chaotic dysfunctional society.

“It is cheaper to prevent crisis than to spend the money to buy the guns to quail crisis. That is the essence of civilisations. We have to redefine our civiliation”, she said.

The Chairman of the roundtable discuss, Emeka Ejiafor, noted that the greatest challenge in the country today bothers on Ethics and Values.

He stressed that attitudinal change was key to the transformation of Nigeria. “We should not be exporting corruption. You don’t need to acquire what you don’t deserve. The police and military we have is a product of the society we have”.

He added that it was hypocritical for public servants to join in shouting corruption in government circles when  80 per cent of houses in Abuja for instance is owned by them, urging them to change for real.

The representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Uche Ajuku Okeke, said what was wrong with ethics and value in Nigeria was because the actors are  high on the talk and low on the doing.

Okeke who is the Director of Training and Staff Welfare in the Ministry, noted that several tradition practice is low on talk but high on the doing.

She advised that Nigeria should emulate the Chinese who sell their culture through their cuisine and making more money from it than crude oil, saying it was high time Nigeria induce compliance by attaching  conditionalities to the services provided.

“Inducing compliance through demand driven conditionalities will transform the country for the better”.

She said America through attaching incentives to information that can lead to the capture of Osama Bin Ladan led them to the actual capture, adding that deploying the same method and protecting the identity of informants will lead to the end of insurgency in the north and other places”.